Duo came back dressed in a casual, sky blue tee, and faded jeans. His legs look long and lean in them, and his tee shirt made his wide shoulders look even stronger and more well defined. Heero found a definite response in himself at the sight.
As Heero went to take his shower, he realized that it had been a very long while since he had seen Duo in anything other than a Preventer uniform, or a training suit. Duo always seemed to be 'on duty'; phone to one ear, people waiting for his orders, and missions always being executed or in their planning stages. Duo's home life, any sort of life, outside of Preventers, was hard for Heero to imagine.
As Heero stood under the spray of water, and soaped off, he placed Duo in an apartment, tried to furnish it with his imagination, and peopled that life with friends and social events. The exercise caused instant depression. There wasn't a scenario where he could see Duo in a bare room, devoid of company, and needing his company. The man was popular with everyone. He was outgoing, funny, and well spoken when he needed to be. There wasn't any reason for Duo to show any interest in a socially inept, workaholic, like himself. If he was interested at all, it had to be out of respect for a fellow agent.
Heero dressed and felt uncomfortable when Duo gave him the same appraising look, that he had given Duo earlier. "You still look like you're in uniform," Duo snickered at last and reached out to undo the top button of Heero's button down, white shirt. The warmth of fingers, at his collarbone, made Heero shiver. "There," Duo said as he looked Heero over again. "Now you're a wild and crazy Preventer agent."
Heero felt a blush and ducked his head. Duo was contrite at once.
"Hey, I was just teasing," Duo apologized. "You look kind of nice, in a well dressed sort of way. I'm the one that feels like a bum, in my jeans."
Heero's chin came up and he said, before he could think. "They look good on you."
Duo's mouth opened slightly and then he closed it. He adjusted his shirt with exaggeration, covering his uncertainty with a joke, "I'm a good looking bum, then?"
"No, I didn't mean...." Heero floundered.
Duo chuckled and jabbed an elbow into Heero's ribs. "Just joking with you, Heero. Relax. Let's go eat."
Heero felt embarrassed and only nodded as he followed Duo to the Preventer parking garage.
Trowa was leaving for the day as well, unlocking a small, gray, sports car. When he saw them, he blinked, as if astonished and then said, "Is there a meeting in the garage that I didn't know about?"
Duo scowled as he unlocked an older, four door car, with a questionable blue paint job, and worn red seats. "We're going out. People who have a life, do that, you know?"
Trowa looked confused and then he chuckled, "Heero Yuy and Duo Maxwell are going on a date? I'll inform the media. It'll shove the tri station talks right off of the vid news."
"Ha, ha," Duo shot back. "It's freakin dinner, not a date, you circus moron. Heero may just punch you for thinking that he even swings that way, right, Heero?"
Duo and Trowa both looked at Heero and Heero found himself unable to respond.
"Heero?" Duo asked again.
"Time for me to go, I think," Trowa said hastily, "You two soldiers have fun, now, and don't blow up or raid anything."
Duo glanced at Trowa with a scowl, as the man climbed into his sports car and took off, and then looked at Heero again. "Heero?" he prompted yet again.
"Let's have dinner," Heero managed, looking everywhere but at Duo.
Duo didn't look ready to drop it, but he could see that Heero wasn't going to say anything else. "Okay... No problem," Duo said, and climbed into the driver's side.
Heero found it hard to make his feet move, but he did, at last, and got into the car with Duo. It wasn't the way that he had wanted Duo to find out, though he wondered why Duo hadn't picked up on his hints before then. It had seemed as if Duo had been responded to him. Now, he was confused, and not sure of his ground. It was best to retreat into friendship, he decided, and not say anything, until he knew how Duo felt about his sexuality.
Duo's cell rang and he balanced it between ear and shoulder while he drove.
"No, I said, four packs of c-4, and I meant it," Duo growled. "Tell him he doesn't know shit about what I need on that mission. I'm the expert."
Heero listened while he looked around Duo's car, trying to get a feel for the off duty man. Satellite link up, GPS, Global telecommunications net, built in laptop console, and a drop down gun rack, gave the impression that Duo was always 'on call' for action. A few fast food bags littered the floor. He seemed to like italian food the most. His taste in music was eclectic. Speed metal mixed with R&b, and classical rock favorites, in his pod.
"The Yanni isn't mine," Duo said defensively as he hung up his cell. "It came with the player."
Yet he hadn't deleted it, Heero thought in amusement.
Duo pulled into the diner parking lot and both men automatically scanned the lot, and what they could see through the diner window, before getting out of the car. When they chose a booth, they picked one farthest away from the door, and facing it, so that they could both slide out and confront trouble if they needed to.
Duo's cell rang again, and he answered it, as he slid a menu to Heero, and opened his own.
"That bastard!" Duo suddenly exclaimed, and the few patrons looked their way. "I told him to avoid that kid party. They're bacteria fraps! I don't care that it was his kids birthday party, he has a mission in two days. Pump him full of antibiotics. I want him operational!"
Duo pocketed his phone again and sighed as he looked over his menu. "The spaghetti's good," he said.
Heero nodded, but his eyes were on Duo more than the menu. The shortened braid had snaked over the man's shoulder. The ragged ends had been trimmed, but the absent length was startling.
"Are you going to ask?" Duo wanted to know suddenly, and his eyes over his menu looked defensive.
"No," Heero replied, as he looked down again. "I think I'll have the tuna sandwich."
"You should ask," Duo insisted.
The waitress took their order, and Duo waited until she as gone again, to lean a little forward and say, in a low voice, "Ask."
Heero considered and then replied, "I can see that it's troubling to you. It's not something that I need to know."
Duo looked perplexed, but pleased as well. "Thanks for caring about my feelings, but... it's okay."
Duo's cell rang again. This time, he slid out of the booth, and walked a little away, as he talked. His free hand gestured, but his voice was barely heard as he moved as far from anyone as possible. It took longer this time and their food arrived before he was finished.
"Sorry," Duo said as he slid back into the booth. "My second is an idiot about some operations. I feel like a damned babysitter, sometimes."
The braid was forgotten, it seemed, and Duo was frowning and thoughtful as he twisted a fork in his spaghetti.
"If you need to go," Heero offered. "We can do this another time."
Duo smiled nervously. "No, it's okay. I'm just being a mother hen. He can handle it."
"It's just dinner," Heero said.
Duo looked uncertain, but then he said, "If you're sure? We may not be able to get back to this for a week." He put his fork down and his hand played with his braid unconsciously. It seemed to catch his attention, suddenly, and his jaw tightened as he closed his fist on the end. "No, really, he can handle it," he said firmly. "Let's finish this."
Heero smiled. "Okay, if you're sure?"
Duo nodded. "Yes, I am. Tuna fish good?"
"Very," Heero replied.
They were quiet for a time, while they ate, and then Duo asked, "You need to teach me how you do it."
Heero blinked, confused. "Do what?"
"Manage your team," Duo clarified."No one's calling you. There never seems to be a disaster imminent."
Heero shrugged. "I'm part of my team only during missions and training sessions. They have their own commander to take care of the down time between."
"My second is supposed to do that, too, but..." Duo rubbed at the back of his neck. "I just feel like I should be involved."
"Then maybe you should replace your second in command?" Heero suggested.
"No, he really is good," Duo insisted. "It's just something I do, I guess, micro manage everything."
Duo didn't seem to need a reply to that. He took two more calls during dinner, looking more and more apologetic. When they finally paid the bill and walked back to the car, he said, "I guess this dinner was a bust?"
"No," Heero replied. "It was pleasant. Let's do it again."
Duo was wide eyed and pleased, right before the man came out of the shadows and put a gun to his jaw.
"Give me your wallets or long hair, here, gets it," the man snarled.
Duo moved, twisting his head around in case the man did shoot, and taking his face out of danger, while his arm came around and pulled the man's fire arm sideways. His foot into the man's gut took away the thief's air, and the man collapsed onto the pavement, puking.
"Yuck," Duo said as he whipped out his cell and called for the police, the man's gun now in his hand.
Heero had his hand on his own gun, ready to back up Duo, adrenaline pumping through him. "See, " he joked, "A perfect end to a dinner date."
Duo finished with his call and then looked at Heero hopefully. "Dinner date?"
Heero felt a blush of uncertainty. "Isn't that what it's called?"
The thief had grabbed at Duo's shirt in the scuffle. It was ripped and hanging off of Duo. A tattoo, done in livid black, was a senseless pattern along his back, not enough of it showing to understand the design. Duo checked for a gold chain, with a cross, to make sure that it was safe, as he replied, "Yeah, I think that is what it's called."
A step forward, but Heero was still unsure if Duo was confirming what he hoped for, or was joking.
"Fags!" the thief said through his gagging.
Duo stepped on the man's back and pushed down hard. "That's Preventer Agent Fags to you, asshole!"
The man spluttered in fear, then, realizing that he had bitten off more than he had imagined.
Duo looked meaningfully at Heero and Heero felt a wild flutter in his gut. "You are?" he had to confirm and Duo nodded with a grin as the police pulled into the parking lot.
____________________________
"You don't ask many questions, do you?" Duo chuckled as he drove them back to Preventers headquarters.
Heero's mind was still on the arrest. He changed mental tracks with difficulty and found only one reply. "What?"
Duo glanced at him as he pulled into the parking garage next to Heero's car. When he had the car in park, he slid out and waited for Heero to join him before explaining.
"I have scars on my face. My braid is short. I have a big assed tattoo," Duo said as he faced Heero. "I admitted that I was gay. You haven't ask any questions. If this is just dinner between fellow agents, and nothing else, then tell me, now."
Heero frowned and replied, "I understand, more than anyone else, how it hurts when someone wants to discuss unfortunate events.There are many things that we both would rather not revisit."
"Then you're just being thoughtful?" Duo smirked.
Heero nodded with a small smile and then gave Duo a piercing look. "Was this just dinner between fellow agents?"
"A question answered with a question," Duo lamented. "We could go back and forth, with this all night. I guess I'll be the brave one here, though, and put my cards on the table."
Duo pulled off what was left with his shirt, and turned his back to Heero, as he explained, "I have issues. I've made bad decisions. I've hurt people because I forget that other people need me outside of being the hero."
A woman's arms reached up from Duo's waist, as if she were holding him, to clasp him at the shoulders. The fingers were delicate and long, resembling small wings, and they held the dangling chain of a cross.
"I tried a relationship," Duo went on. "I was so bad at it, that the person cut off my braid, while I was asleep, and told me, 'they needed at least a part of me to be with them'. The scars on my face are from a micro bomb. It almost took off my head and killed the person next to me."
Heero reached out a tentative hand and touched the tattoo. Duo shivered under that touch and then turned to face him as he put his shirt on again.
"I'm no good," Duo continued. "I screw up. I'm a workaholic. I can't get my work out of my personal life. The tattoo is of the only person who ever loved me, and that was when I was really young. Nobody else has managed to stick around."
"You're complicated," Heero replied. "I'm just a cold bastard."
Duo stared at him for a moment and then laughed. Heero chuckled as well as Duo reached out and gripped his arm to steady himself. He wiped tears of amusement from his eyes and said, "Heero, anybody who thinks you're a cold bastard, doesn't know you at all."
"It's a consensus, I'm afraid," Heero insisted.
"Consensus can go fuck itself," Duo snorted. He went quiet then, and serious. "If you want more than a dinner, you have to know what you're getting yourself into. I'm no heaven.I'm hell on two legs."
"I like it hot," Heero replied with a smirk, "So that's all right."
Duo laughed again. "You have a killer sense of humor, Heero. I bet no one else knows that about you."
"No one spends enough time with me," Heero admitted.
"I'd like to," Duo told him. "If that's all right?"
"Yes, it is all right," Heero replied. "After your mission, let's get to know each other better."
Duo leaned in, suddenly, and gave Heero a kiss on the cheek. Soft lips brushed a slight stubble, and then Duo was backing away and blushing. Heero wasn't any more composed. They stumbled over their goodbye, self consciously, both of them feeling as if they had made fools of themselves, and went their respective ways.
Heero caressed the spot where Duo had kissed him with his thumb, as he drove for home, and felt a heat building inside of him, that he had never felt with anyone else. Duo was afraid, but Heero was sure of what he wanted, now, and he wasn't about to allow Duo's insecurities to stand in the way of their budding relationship.
________________________
Their personal lives were pauses between conflicts. Both Heero and Duo found it difficult to reconnect for weeks after their date. There were several, unsatisfying, phone calls, but a mission wasn't the time to pursue relationships. They both had to stay focused and 'in the field'.
When Duo finally passed Heero in a hallway, filthy duffle bag slung over one shoulder, and fatigues smeared with blood, it wasn't surprising that he was arguing tactics with someone on the other end of his cell phone. His eyes studied Heero intently as they stopped and faced each other, but his argument never faltered.
"Nobody said anything about chickens! How was I supposed to know that they kept them as an alarm system? Hey, you can shut up about it. Nobody died, except some bad guys, and the ring leaders are in custody. What the f--! That's bullshit! Look, if you think that you have chicken clairvoyance, you're coming on my next mission. I'll give you the code name 'chicken man', okay?"
Duo snapped his cell closed and said to Heero, "You look like shit. Are you walking wounded?"
"No, but I haven't had any downtime in 48 hours," Heero replied. He had at least been able to shower and change into soft Preventer casual clothes, with the preventer logo on the breast, but his hair was still wild from his shower and there were dark shadows under his eyes. "I had to clean out some insurgents in the Congo. By the numbers operation, in and out, but set up took some time."
Heero reached out and tugged at Duo's fatigues, looking for a hole where the blood stains covered his side. "Just scrapes," Duo told him with a chuckle. "That blood's not mine."
Heero dropped his hand in relief as he said, "We have unfinished business, Maxwell."
His tone was so serious that uncertainty flickered across Duo's face, but then he grinned, a moment later, understanding that it was a joke. "I think you're right," he replied. "Care to have a meeting and discuss the situation?"
Heero mentally checked his schedule. It was hard to find the time, but, finally, he offered, "Tuesday at eight P.M.?"
Duo chewed on a bruised lip, thinking, but then nodded and grinned again. "You're on. Call me at home and confirm Tuesday."
"Your place or mine?" Heero wondered, not sure what was appropriate to offer, but having heard other people use the phrase.
"Your place," Duo suggested. "You can never tell how my roommate will react. I'd rather just avoid him all together."
"I'll pick you up, then," Heero said, smiling as he felt pleasure cutting through his exhaustion.
"I love when you smile like that, "Duo said with a smile of his own. "That's the smile that people, who think that you are a cold bastard, have never seen."
Heero floundered for a response, but Duo was already answering his cell again, and forestalling anything that he could have thought to say. "I know, I know, oh Queen of paperwork!" Duo grumbled. "I will be down to fill out my mission report as soon as I clean up. Trust me, darling, you wouldn't want a whiff of the Eau de Mission perfume that I have on right now."
Duo swiveled his eyes to Heero and winked at him, knowing that Heero understood. He waggled his hand next to his free ear, in a pantomime of an imaginary cell, and mouthed, 'Tuesday, call me.' and then he was striding by, still talking on his cell, unzipping and unbuckling clothing and riot gear, as he headed for the Preventer showers.
Heero had a fleeting mental image of a completely naked Duo, finishing the last few yards, unconcerned and leaving behind gear and clothing. He surprised himself with a laugh, knowing just how possible that scenario was, turned, and came face to face with Chang Wu Fei .
Wu Fei was looking after Duo as he said, "It's interesting what one can discover in such a short time."
Heero frowned, waiting for judgment, offering nothing.
"It is good that you don't work together. That would complicate matters," Wu Fei continued. "While I cannot understand your choice of companion, I do understand a warrior's necessity." He gave an infinitesimal bow of his head, eyes still straight and unwilling to meet Heero's, his every line one of extreme formality, and then he was past Heero and walking briskly down the hallway.
Heero had lived with war, most of his life. he understood Wu Fei's meaning. To him, it was reasonable. Men were men, even men as dedicated as they were. The body forced a man to make concessions.
"Idiot!" Heero growled. "It's not like that at all." It made him feel uncomfortable, though, wondering if Wu Fei had such an arrangement. He didn't want to have any mental image of the man in any sexual situation. He shuddered in disgust and then went to finish his own mound of paperwork.
________________________________________________
"He's not home." The man had a high pitched, annoyed tone.
"When is he expected to return?" Heero wondered, feeling nervous. He wasn't sure what to say to Duo's room mate, wary of revealing anything that Duo might not want him to know.
"I don't know," the man replied. "He's often called away on missions. He is a very important man, after all. We barely have any time alone, you see, so I'd rather not have him bothered at home, when he is here. Please call Preventer headquarters if you want to reach him."
"This isn't business," Heero felt an uncomfortable blush.
"I suspected as much," the man replied with a long suffering sigh. "That man! I don't know why I put up him. After all of this time, you would think that he would respect, and love, me enough, not to do these sorts of things."
Heero frowned in confusion, pacing his apartment floor.
"I need to try and talk him into counseling," the man went on. "Despite everything, I do want to save our relationship."
"I..." Heero wasn't sure how to reply to that.
"Please, don't call again," the man told him. "You're just one, in a long line of people, duped by his charms. He never meant anything serious with you, I assure you. You're just a conquest, like all of the others."
The phone went dead and Heero let his arm hang loosely as he stood at the center of his living room and tried to understand. All of Duo's conversations with his room mate, and his need to avoid the man, made sense now, if he believed the man. What didn't make sense, was everything else. Heero had learned to read men very well. His life had counted on it many times. Perhaps he was inexperienced when it came to relationships, but he still couldn't have misread Duo that badly.
When his cell rang, two hours later, he stared at the number, confused, and then answered it.
"Heero?" Duo's voice was warm. It wrapped around Heero like an embrace."Did something come up?"
"No," Heero replied. "I called."
Duo was puzzled. "My phone was off for some reason, but it's not showing any missed calls."
Heero sat down in a comfortable chair and rubbed at his forehead with his free hand. "We should talk, Duo."
There was a moment of silence and then Duo sounded despondent as he replied, "I was expecting this. You're already tired of my shit, right? I'm sorry, Heero. I can't help it. I'm a complete workaholic."
"It's not that," Heero told him. He wasn't sure how to proceed. How did he ask a man how serious he was, when they had barely begun to explore the possibility of being together? "I think that we should wait."
"Wait?" Duo sounded sad. "For some people, that's code word for 'Let's just be friends', Heero."
Heero made a fist and banged it against his forehead several times, wanting the right words to come. "I don't want to complicate the relationship that you already have," he finally managed and couldn't help the stiff, formality of those words.
"Relationship?" Duo was confused. "Heero, the only relationship that I've been having, is with my cell phone and my right hand. After getting my hair cut off, by my last significant other, I wasn't exactly eager to try again."
"You roommate..." Heero tried again.
"What about him?" Duo sounded even more confused.
:He answered your cell, he was upset that I called," Heero informed him.
"He's always upset," Duo groused. "Heero, I told you, he's just a roommate. He's weird, but he's like a tank of goldfish, only he talks and I don't have to remember to feed him. He's company for when I'm home, and that's it. If he's making shit with you calling, though, I'll tell him to pack up and find some place else."
"Duo, I think you need to talk to him, if that's how you feel," Heero explained, "I don't think that he feels the same way that you do. Until then, I'd rather not pursue us any further."
"Us?" Duo's confusion crystallized into something else, excitement. "Is there an us, Heero?"
Heero didn't want to reply, but he had made the slip and there was no taking it back. "I think so," he replied at last, "but, only if you're certain that your relationship with your roommate is not something that you want to pursue."
Duo laughed. "He's not my type, Heero. You're my type." He grew serious, then, adding. "You've always been my type, actually. I was just... I didn't think... there was never any time..."
"I know," Heero replied, holding the phone in both hands, and wanting it to be Duo. "Until you shared my office, I was blinded by work, by commitments."
"So, you know how I feel," Duo said. "So don't ask stupid questions about me wanting anyone else."
"Settle it, then," Heero insisted. "Before anything else happens between us."
"He'll have his marching orders this evening," Duo replied sounding angry now. "Messing with my date is really the last damn straw with that guy."
Small talk, after that declaration, was simply too difficult for either of them. Heero hung up, feeling confident that his relationship with Duo would go forward.
______________________
"He didn't come into work, today," Une said distractedly. The sound of papers shuffling came through the cell.
"Is he ill?" Heero asked.
"That's personal information," Une replied primly. "None of your business, Yuy." In the next moment, though, she replied, "Yes. His room mate called and said that he would be out for at least a week with the flu. I'm telling you this, in strictest confidence, not because I enjoy breaking regulations, but because I need Maxwell for a mission next week. It is now your mission to go to his home and make certain that he goes to the Preventer clinic. I need him operational, Yuy."
"Yes, Commander," Heero replied, feeling worry for Duo and relief that he would have an excuse to check on him. It bothered him, though, that Duo's roommate had made the call. It told him that Duo might have fallen ill the previous night, and that he had not had the chance to evict the man. Heero didn't relish meeting the man, or having to explain his orders to take Duo to the clinic.
_____________________________________
"I did call." Duo's roommate looked highly irritated. He was tall and thin, blue eyes glaring at Heero from under a shaggy mop of black hair. He wore a ragged t shirt and old jeans and was much younger than Heero had imagined him to be.
"I was ordered to bring him to the clinic for an exam," Heero replied, retreating from revealing anything personal to the man.
"He has the flu," the roommate grumbled. "There isn't any need for a doctor."
"I'm only following orders," Heero replied. "Maxwell is expected to follow them as well."
"You're that Yuy, fellow, aren't you?" the roommate suddenly asked. He leaned in close, eyes glittering angrily. "Let's get this straight, okay? He's mine, so fuck off!"
Heero's hand twitched towards his gun. He stilled it with an effort.
"I'm the one who's been taking care of him," the man continued. "I'm the one who's been here for him, when Preventers gets done wringing his life's blood out of him, not you. I get to see the bruises, and wounds, from missions that were that close to killing him. I help patch him up, when he won't show anyone how much a mission was screwed up. No one else cares. No one else calls and wonders how he is. They just call about the next mission." His angry face came even closer to Heero's. "How many times have you called?"
Heero felt an uncomfortable flush of heat. That wasn't fair, he thought, he and Duo hadn't been close until now. Duo's actions echoed, perfectly, his own, though. He hid missions gone wrong as well, and never complained about the close calls. If anyone called him, to check on his health, it was Sally Po. She could always see though him to know when something was wrong. He couldn't imagine her not doing the same for Duo, or the agents under Duo's command, for that matter. That meant that Duo's roommate was lying.
"Who's at the door, Raymond?" Duo's weak voice called. "Either let them the hell in or tell them to go the hell away. You're letting in the freakin' cold air."
Before Raymond could reply, Heero called out, "It's Heero!"
"Heero! Come on in!" Duo replied, sounding pleased.
Raymond glared, but Heero pushed past him, and entered the apartment. He heard a low growl from Raymond, but ignored him as he rounded the bar of the small kitchen and found Duo on the couch in the equally small living room. Under a thick blanket, covered with used kleenex, he was the picture of a man suffering with the flu.
Duo waved a kleenex at Heero. "Keep your distance," he warned. "You don't want to get this."
Heero relaxed, looking Duo over, and seeing that he wasn't at death's door. "I'm afraid that I have to risk it. You've been ordered to report to the medic."
"I'll be fine by next week," Duo insisted, irritably. "I just need some rest." He sounded congested and his nose was red from blowing it. Bleary eyes gave Raymond a flick of a glance and Heero caught the small apologetic shrug. Heero nodded minutely, understanding that Duo simply hadn't been well enough to deal with the man.
"Why won't they leave you alone?" Raymond demanded angrily as he began picking up discarded kleenex and tossing them into a small bin. "I think, if you died, they'd put you in a flack jacket and still send you on a mission."
Duo laughed, but Raymond wasn't trying to be amusing. His scowl only deepened. "People depend on me," Duo told him. "It's what I do."
"The world can save itself, you know, without you," Raymond retorted.
"They will have to, eventually," Duo acknowledged, turning serious. "My luck will run out one of these days. Until then, though, I'm the best there is and they need me." He sneezed, blew his nose, and motioned to Heero, "Get my shoes and we'll go."
"Don't!" Raymond protested.
Duo frowned as Heero searched near the door and found a well used pair of rugged soled, walking shoes. they weren't the sort of shoes that someone like Raymond would wear.
"Orders are orders," Duo replied as he took the shoes from Heero and sat up with an effort.
Raymond made an angry sound and then stalked into what must have been his bedroom. The door slammed shut.
Duo blinked at it and then shrugged. "That man gets weirder every day."
Heero ended up kneeling to tie Duo's shoes. Bending over made Duo dizzy. He said, quietly, "You will have to speak to him, Duo. He feels very strongly about you."
Duo looked perplexed. "I really don't know why he should. Here I've been trying, over and over again, to have some sort of relationship with someone, and failing miserably, and the one guy I don't want, falls for me. I just don't get it. Maybe he's a masochist, or something?"
Heero looked up at Duo and Duo realized what he had said.
"Oh... well...," Duo fumbled for words. "I didn't mean that we weren't having... a relationship... or that you were... a masochist, too... I just..."
Heero smirked and finished tying Duo's laces. "We understand each other."
Duo found a smile as Heero helped him stand. "Yeah, we do, don't we?" He leaned his cheek against Heero's shoulder and gave it a brief rub as he said, "Thanks for coming here to get me."
"Une did order me to get you," Heero admitted. "But I would have come anyway."
"Remember that when you get this crap flu, too," Duo sighed. "I did warn you."
__________________________________________
"Duo..." Heero began and then couldn't continue, struggling to find a good way to say what was on his mind as he drove his car towards Preventer headquarters.
Duo was leaning back in the leather seats, eyes closed, expression miserable as he wiped at a runny nose with a tissue. "Heero?" he prompted at last.
A car honked as they slowed at an intersection. A young girl whooped and gave Duo a victory sign. He managed to grin back and return it, before Heero pulled back into traffic.
"Nice to know that we have fans," Duo sighed as he closed his eyes again.
Hero had almost decided not to continue his conversation, but Duo wasn't that far gone in misery. He opened and rolled an eye at Heero.
"So?" Duo prompted.
"Your roommate," Heero tried again.
Duo sighed and closed his eyes again, rubbing at his aching forehead. "Yeah, he's a nutcase. I'll have to deal with him."
"I think..." Heero struggled.
"Yes?"
"I think that he might be... obsessed," Heero finally managed to say.
"Obsessed?" Duo echoed.
"He tied to warn me off from seeing you," Heero explained. "He seemed... possessive...almost threatening."
Duo snickered. "So, you want to tell me to be careful, is that it?" When Heero gave an embarrassed nod, Duo laughed outright. "Heero, that man is less dangerous than a newborn L2 rat. He cries when he gets a paper cut. He worries about dishpan hands... whatever the hell that is. Even sick, with both legs and an arm missing, I could take him out in 00.2 seconds."
"That long?" Heero replied, almost sounding serious.
Duo laughed again. "Well," he said, waving a dirty kleenex, "I am missing the two legs and an arm."
"Hm."
Duo glared. "Heero, you're being weird."
"There are many ways that he could incapacitate you," Heero pointed out. "He could slip you a narcotic with your medicine, attack you while you slept, put a sleep agent in your food..."
"Maybe I should be afraid of you, too?" Duo snorted. "You seem to have this all thought out."
Heero was quiet, eyes on the road.
"All right," Duo finally sighed. "I get what you're saying. He goes as soon as I get back."
"I'll stay while you explain the situation to him," Heero promised.
"That's cruel," Duo pointed out. "He thinks he's in love with me and I bring the new guy home and tell him to get out."
Heero was quiet again, a frown between his eyes.
"I'm getting good at reading your quiet," Duo grumbled. "I guess that IS how it is, isn't it? I can feel sorry for the guy, you know? I can want to let him down easy."
"He's living in a fantasy," Heero pointed out. "I don't think that being subtle, and easy, will help him to understand the situation."
Duo blew his nose, made a miserable grumble, and then said, "At least he was company. It's going to be hard having an empty apartment again."
Heero's hands tensed on the steering wheel. "We could-" he began but Duo was already replying, forestalling his train of thought.
"Too soon," Duo replied. "We're still figuring each other out, right? Getting that close, and personal, so quick can ruin things. I know. I'm king of the screwed up relationship, remember?" He flicked his shortened braid at Heero.
"You're right," Heero agreed. "We should wait."
Duo smiled.
Heero noticed and asked, "What is it?"
"It's nice not getting interrupted by work," Duo told him. "We actually had a long talk."
And the world didn't collapse without you, Heero wanted to add, but didn't, because he had too much of that martyr complex, himself, to judge any one else.
____________________________________
"Nice one," Sally snorted as she looked over Duo's chart.
"Nice wouldn't be how I would describe this plague," Duo grumbled. "Am I dying from it, or not?"
"No, but we definitely have some housecleaning to do in your lungs," Sally replied as she made some notes.
"We?" Duo shifted uncomfortably on the exam table, the paper crinkling underneath him. "I don't think you're suffering along with me on this one, Po. There isn't a 'we'. Just give me the medicine and let me cough this crap out."
"There's more to it than that," Sally replied.
"I was afraid of that," Duo groaned. "Can I put my clothes on now? My balls are freezing."
Sally chuckled. "Yes, you may." As Duo moved to dress, coughing hard, as he did so, Sally finished her notes and said, "This flu isn't all that bad."
Duo pulled on his sweatshirt and glared at her. "Says you?"
Sally shrugged as she tucked her chart under one arm, and replied, "Well, it's gotten rid of your cell-phone-itus."
Zipping and snapping his jeans, Duo went pensive. "That's part of my job, Sally. I know it sucks, but..."
"Show me anyone else who's as 'hands on' as you are, Duo," Sally replied, cutting off his excuse. "I don't need to tell you that your obsession with work isn't about work, do I? You're a smart boy-"
"Sally, I haven't been a boy in years," Duo retorted as he sat and put on his shoes and socks. She caught at his shoulder to steady him as he threatened to fall forward onto the floor.
"Watch it!" Sally warned, and supported Duo until the dizziness passed.
Duo wiped at the clammy sweat on his forehead. "Are you sure I'm not dying?" he asked plaintively.
"Positive," Sally reassured him. "It's a good thing that Heero is being your nurse, today, though. You're going to be a very sick b... sick man... for at least a few more days."
Duo smiled at that and Sally took note of his sudden change of attitude.
"I see that having Heero for a nurse agrees with you?" she fished.
Duo grinned at her and replied, "You're not getting shit out of me, Po. Nothing's definite, so nothing's getting said about it, okay? Keep it tight under wraps."
She raised eyebrows in amusement. "Maxwell, you two haven't exactly been undercover about things. People have been taking bets on what's going on between you two."
"Bets?" Duo scowled, not sure what to think about that.
Sally took out her chart again and pretended to go over it again, to hide the smirk on her face. "I have a hundred credits that says you screw up."
Duo felt his belly tighten. "I thought that we were friends?"
"We are. That's why I know you," Sally told him. "Two dedicated Preventer agents, who don't know the meaning of 'private life', are doomed to fail at a relationship together."
"Fuck you!" Duo snarled.
"I'm not the only one taking that bet," Sally admitted, not bothered by Duo's fury. "It seems a sure thing."
"Well, it's not!" Duo exclaimed. "I can make this work!"
"Can you?" Sally raised an eyebrow at him. "Seems to me that it requires a lot of change on your part. In my experience, men don't ever change."
Duo stood up and pointed a finger at her chest, hitting the chart repeatedly as she raised it to defend herself with amusement rather than alarm. "You are going to lose that bet, Po!"
Duo stormed out angrily. Sally Po smiled and said to his retreating back. "I hope so, Maxwell."
_________________________
Heero put a hand under Duo's elbow as he asked worriedly, "What happened? What did she say?"
"Nothing important," Duo growled. "Let's get to the dispensary and get the hell out of here."
"Not until you tell me what she said that's made you so angry," Heero insisted.
They moved to let others pass them in the waiting room, Duo's purple eyes sparking with temper and his jaw clenching. He replied tightly, "She said that I have the flu, no duh, and that it's going to take a couple of days."
Heero thought that he understood then. "You wanted to be well enough, next week, to go on your mission."
Duo slid eyes at him and grunted. "Yeah, that too."
Heero frowned as he walked with Duo towards the dispensary. "If that isn't what's bothering you, then she must have said something that you didn't want to hear."
Duo looked around them, at the people passing them by, and said,"Sally just pisses me off, sometimes. She says what ever pops into her head. she doesn't have any... whatchacallit...?"
"Tact?" Heero supplied with a chuckle.
Duo grunted and then said, "Smarts, would be better. She can be one stupid lady. She just thinks..."
"What?" Heero pressed.
"That she knows me... people... stuff," Duo replied. He coughed hard and swayed a bit. Heero steadied him, as he added, "Po doesn't know shit about me... or you."
Heero tried to make sense of that."Was she speaking about our relationship?"
Duo went quiet, eye brows drawing down in a scowl.
Heero grimaced. "I'm sure that she's not the only one who is surprised that we are together. On the outside, it must seem an impossible match."
"People shouldn't take bets on us failing, though!" Duo exploded.
Heero let that information sink in. He gave it a dispassionate review, and then sighed, as he realized that, if he were a betting man, that he would have gambled for the end of their attempt at a relationship as well. They were a very unlikely match, like oil and water, and they were both career men, totally dedicated to giving their lives for Preventers. Meeting between missions, trying to grow a life together, would seem an impossible task.
"I hate when you do that," Duo grumbled.
Heero blinked and realized that Duo was looking very unhappy. "Do what?"
"Analyze," Duo replied. "You're supposed to get as pissed as I am, not decide whether that stuff might be true."
"I wasn't," Heero told him. "I was thinking that it must seem true to someone who doesn't know us as well as they think they do."
Duo grinned. "Yeah. I'm sure nobody thought you were even gay. Me, I shout it from the rooftops, but you're a silent runner, under the radar at all times." Duo became serious, then, studying Heero intently as he asked, "So, how sure a bet is our relationship going down like a holed shuttle?"
Heero wanted to be honest, but he knew that's not what Duo wanted. It wasn't what he wanted either. "I think they're going to lose their money."
Duo grinned again and slid an arm around Heero's waist, not caring that people were watching them. "I think so too."
TBC